More than 80% of their members with SWR voted to strike with a turnout of around 76%.

General secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT has given repeated opportunities for First/MTR to give us the assurances we have sought over the future role of the guards on their trains throughout the length of the new South Western franchise.

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"They have refused to give us those guarantees and it is that failure which left RMT with no option but to declare a formal dispute with the company and to conduct a ballot for action.

"Our members have now voted overwhelmingly for both strike action and action short of a strike and that massive mandate will now be considered by RMT's executive, who will decide the next steps."

He added: "This dispute can be easily resolved if the company are prepared to stick to existing agreements, give staff and passengers alike a guarantee of a second, safety-critical member of staff on all current services and an assurance that safety and access are the absolute priority.

More than 80% of members on SWR voted to strike with a turnout of around 76% (Image: Simon Galloway 2017)

"Guards on SWR have been hailed as 'legends' in company publicity material.

"It is time for First-MTR to stand by those legends and to withdraw the threat to throw them off the trains.

"That is the message that RMT will be taking out to the fare-paying public as we step up our campaign."

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The trade union accused Theresa May of "sabotaging" deals to end strikes over the role of guards, which are breaking out across the industry.

RMT wrote to the Prime Minister on Tuesday calling for her to allow train companies in England to negotiate in the same way as Wales and Scotland.

The call comes as an RMT strike at Southern Rail is under way on Tuesday and Thursday (October 5).

A South Western Railway spokesman said: "We are disappointed that some of our staff have chosen to vote for industrial action.

A South Western Railway spokesman said they are "disappointed" by the vote (Image: South Western Railway)

"None of us want to be in this position and any potential action will cause unnecessary disruption for the customers we serve.

“We have been clear that we plan to retain a second person on our services, as we know that our passengers value the assurance and assistance a second member of on-board staff provides.

"That’s why, during our franchise, we will increase the numbers of drivers and guards so we can deliver more services for passengers.

“We aim to deliver improvements for passengers throughout the SWR franchise including more trains, quicker journeys, and earlier and later services. Today’s announcement undermines those efforts.

"We urge the RMT to avoid premature strike action and work with us to deliver for our customers, and we look forward to meeting them again to discuss our future plans on 5 October as already arranged.”

August 24 - Services reduced by up to 75% on some lines

Passengers on South Western Railway (SWR) will be hit by even more disruption from Thursday (August 24) as Network Rail battles to complete the London Waterloo upgrade work on time.

Additional engineering work had already been planned from Friday (August 25) until Monday (August 28), with reductions in service of up to 75% on some lines as platforms 1 to 14 at Waterloo are closed.

August 28 - Ticket machines not working as 'outage' affects network on Bank Holiday

October 3 - Strike action announced

The result was announced Tuesday (October 3) as RMT union members voted "overwhelmingly" in favour of strike over a dispute over rail safety.

October 24 - Train damaged due to "root vegetables"

A train, which had a window smashed heading towards London Waterloo was caused by "root vegetables" according to police.

The 2.59pm South Western Railway (SWR) service from Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo on Tuesday (October 24) had to be terminated at Basingstoke because a window was severely damaged and disrupted the driver's view.